Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
Tip: 3:00 PM (Central)
Location: LNC
TV: ESPN 2
To say that Brady Manek had an off night in Oklahoma’s last outing would be a major understatement. Despite entering the game as OU’s leading scorer, the senior forward scored just two points against #15 Texas Tech in what was one of the lowest scoring games of his career. Now it’s fair to expect a big bounce-back from the Harrah, Oklahoma native.
Manek is expected to make his 99th career start for Oklahoma when they host the Mountaineers today. On the last four occasions that Manek has been held to five or fewer points, he’s averaging 21.3 points in his next game, scoring at least 15 points in all four of his recent “bounce-back games”.
The Calvary Has Arrived
Oklahoma has seen major improvement from sophomore forward Victor Iwuakor, especially in recent games. After missing two weeks of practice in early December, Iwuakor has totaled 20 points and 13 rebounds over his last two games.
Series History
• Oklahoma owns 12-9 lead in the all-time series with West Virginia.
• The Sooners and Mountaineers were scheduled to face each other in the postseason this past March at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City. The game was canceled the morning of the matchup due to growing concerns of the COVID-19 virus.
• OU won both meetings with West Virginia by double digits last season, topping WVU 69-59 in Norman and 73-62 in Morgantown.
• The Sooners own a 6-2 lead in the all-time series for games played in Norman.
Game Notes
• Oklahoma has won three of its last six games against ranked teams.
• OU is 21-15 at home against Top 25 teams during the Lon Kruger era.
• With 184 victories at Oklahoma, Coach Kruger is closing in on surpassing Hugh McDermott (185 wins from 1922-38) on the Sooners’ all-time wins list. Only three OU head coaches compiled more than 185 victories: Billy Tubbs (333), Kelvin Sampson (279) and Hall-of-Famer Bruce Drake (200).
• The Sooners are in the midst of a brutal stretch against Top 15 opponents. Following Dec. 22’s matchup with then-No. 15 Texas Tech, Oklahoma now faces No. 9 West Virginia at home today before playing road games at No. 3 Kansas and No. 2 Baylor. Should all four teams remain ranked, it will be the first time OU has played four consecutive games against Top 15 opponents.
• Oklahoma’s 82.7 points per game rank second in the Big 12. The Sooners are joined by Baylor (95.0) as the only Big 12 teams averaging over 80 points.
• The Sooners rank in the top four of the Big 12 in all three shooting categories: field goal shooting (47.0%, fourth), 3-point shooting (36.5%, third) and free throw percentage (78.5%, first).
• The Sooners also lead the league in fewest fouls committed per game, fouling an average of 13.0 times – the third-fewest in the country.
• Sophomore guard De’Vion Harmon leads the Big 12 in free throw shooting, sinking his foul shots at a 90.5% clip. Austin Reaves ranks fifth in the league with an 86.5% rate.
• Oklahoma is committing only 11.3 turnovers per game – the second lowest in the Big 12 and 33rd fewest nationally.
Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland